Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Gasly brushes off Red Bull pressure

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Pierre Gasly says he doesn't feel any pressure from Red Bull when he gets the opportunity to test for the team.

The Frenchman made his F1 debut driving for Red Bull and Toro Rosso at the Barcelona in-season test and followed it up with a day in the RB11 in Austria on Tuesday. After completing 80 laps for the team on a rain-hit opening day of testing, Gasly says he simply sees the test as a chance to impress rather than a pressurised situation.

"I think it’s a bonus," Gasly said. "You don’t get the opportunity to drive a Formula One car very often. All the time I’m in the car, I try to do my best. I try to show what I can do in the car, try to have some really good feedback for the team because that’s what they’re looking for.

"You know the pressure you have it since you are young in karting, then moving up to do world championships. I’m used to dealing with it and I try to do my best as usual."

Having worked on Red Bull's soft tyre running on Tuesday, Gasly says he noticed some improvements with the car compared to his first run in Barcelona.

"I have to say it felt a bit better in terms of balance and everything, but also I got a bit more familiar with the car, and it’s not the same track. The grip here is quite low, which makes the car a bit different in terms of balance.

"But overall, I was really happy about the balance. We did some testing which went in the right direction. I think it was useful."

Click here for pictures from the opening day of in-season testing in Austria

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.